Image by Brandon T. Bisceglia
“Whether it’s motivation or some invigoration that you’re looking for, Cell-nique assists in detoxifying and alkalizing your body naturally to enhance your spirit and drive.”
That’s one of many claims made by a “super green drink” manufacturer headquartered in Weston, CT. It’s the kind of claim that we hear more and more these days: “natural cures” are offered in place of scientifically-backed medicines. Foods tout the fact that they contain no preservatives or artificial flavors. Even some cleaning products distinguish themselves as being made from “natural chemicals.”
All of these advertising schemes play on the assumption that because something is natural, it must be better somehow.
But does nature always offer the best solution? Probably not.
First, it helps to realize that the word “natural” simply means “not man made.” If a human modifies it, it becomes artificial.
With that definition in mind, imagine that you want to cross a deep river. You have two options: you can hang on to a piece of driftwood floating near the riverbank, or you can build a raft.
The driftwood might get you to the other side, and it’s definitely natural. But your chances of making it are much, much better with the artificially-made raft.
All-natural clearly isn’t always the most effective or useful policy. Making tools to overcome the limitations of what the natural world can offer is one of humankind’s greatest assets. No one would advocate for going back to all-natural knives (rocks), or all-natural toothbrushes (fingernails).
Nor does all-natural mean healthy. Just consider the fact that cyanide and uranium are both naturally occurring substances. Yet one is a deadly poison and the other is highly radioactive.
Even the claim that some food producers make about using all-natural ingredients is hard to back up. Agriculture is a man-made invention that has literally changed every crop into something different from its wild counterpart through selective breeding over the thousands of years that we’ve been farming. Unless the manufacturers plucked their ingredients from a forest, they too are engaging in an “artificial” process to make their products.
So what does it mean if a product is advertised as natural? Most of the time, absolutely nothing. It’s just another gimmick to hook consumers into paying an extra buck.
That’s one of many claims made by a “super green drink” manufacturer headquartered in Weston, CT. It’s the kind of claim that we hear more and more these days: “natural cures” are offered in place of scientifically-backed medicines. Foods tout the fact that they contain no preservatives or artificial flavors. Even some cleaning products distinguish themselves as being made from “natural chemicals.”
All of these advertising schemes play on the assumption that because something is natural, it must be better somehow.
But does nature always offer the best solution? Probably not.
First, it helps to realize that the word “natural” simply means “not man made.” If a human modifies it, it becomes artificial.
With that definition in mind, imagine that you want to cross a deep river. You have two options: you can hang on to a piece of driftwood floating near the riverbank, or you can build a raft.
The driftwood might get you to the other side, and it’s definitely natural. But your chances of making it are much, much better with the artificially-made raft.
All-natural clearly isn’t always the most effective or useful policy. Making tools to overcome the limitations of what the natural world can offer is one of humankind’s greatest assets. No one would advocate for going back to all-natural knives (rocks), or all-natural toothbrushes (fingernails).
Nor does all-natural mean healthy. Just consider the fact that cyanide and uranium are both naturally occurring substances. Yet one is a deadly poison and the other is highly radioactive.
Even the claim that some food producers make about using all-natural ingredients is hard to back up. Agriculture is a man-made invention that has literally changed every crop into something different from its wild counterpart through selective breeding over the thousands of years that we’ve been farming. Unless the manufacturers plucked their ingredients from a forest, they too are engaging in an “artificial” process to make their products.
So what does it mean if a product is advertised as natural? Most of the time, absolutely nothing. It’s just another gimmick to hook consumers into paying an extra buck.
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